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Video has become an essential component in the collaborative day-to-day of business, but there are dramatic differences in strategies and approaches. Download PGi’s Video Conferencing Buyer’s Guide for everything you need to know before choosing the right video conferencing solution for your company.

Thinking about a web conferencing solution switch? Then this IT Buyer’s Guide to Web Conferencing is for you. The positive impact of a web conferencing solution is well-established. But a web conferencing tool can become just another pain point for IT teams. To reduce the resource and budget burdens your team, it is imperative to find the right solution from the start. Download PGi’s IT Buyer’s Guide to Web Conferencing to use as a reference tool for your research.

Amazon Web Services has a long history of successfully supporting Microsoft workloads, with hundreds of thousands of customers across a wide variety of industries running their Microsoft workloads on AWS. Customers have successfully deployed virtually every Microsoft application available on the AWS Cloud, including (but not limited to) Microsoft Office, Microsoft Windows Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SharePoint Server, Microsoft Skype for Business, Microsoft Dynamics products, and Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. This guide covers the benefits of moving Microsoft workloads to the Cloud and how to get started.

The combination of Skype for Business and Polycom systems provides a scalable solution suitable for businesses of different sizes. There are different Skype for Business packages and Polycom systems available to suit any budget or collaboration requirement. These solutions can provide a flexible infrastructure for meetings of two people or events of up to 10,000 participants located anywhere in the world.
Skype for Business offers a clear migration path from Microsoft Lync or Skype to protect investment for organizations with existing installations. For growing businesses or organizations that are new to collaboration, the partnership of Skype for Business and Polycom provides the portfolio and the flexibility to add features and services to suit changing collaboration needs or scale capacity in line with business growth.

Office 365, Microsoft’s cloud-based productivity
suite, includes online versions of Microsoft’s most
popular solutions, like Exchange and SharePoint,
storage through OneDrive, and several mobile apps,
including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook,
Publisher, and Skype for Business. Office 365 is central
to Microsoft’s strategy as the company evolves into a
mobile-first, cloud-first software and solutions provider.
Many MobileIron customers are increasingly using
Office 365 on mobile devices instead of on traditional
PCs. Therefore the ability to secure and deploy Office
365 on mobile devices using MobileIron is a common
requirement.

Your business relies on a Microsoft® infrastructure that
stretches from your network to the cloud to endpoints located
around the world. In many ways, the success of your business
relies on how secure your Microsoft infrastructure is. Your
users do not care where the applications and data reside; they
only care about getting their job done. SharePoint®, Skype for
Business, or Active Directory® deployed on the network, in
Azure®, or as part of your Office 365® subscription should have
no impact on the success of your business.

Osterman Research wants to make it clear at the outset that we believe Microsoft Office 365 to be a robust and capable platform, one that will serve most organizations well. If your organization is using Office 365, we recommend you continue to do so. If you’re not using it, we recommend you consider it. Microsoft offers a large, varied and growing number of features and functions in Office 365, and at a wide range of price points that will satisfy different markets.
Decision makers evaluating the efficacy of Office 365 to meet their business requirements must be aware of its shortcomings in the areas of data protection, archiving, security, encryption, authentication and eDiscovery (among others) covering workloads like Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, Skype for Business, and Azure Active Directory. An awareness of these shortcomings enables decision makers to plan for the mitigations required to assure the proper business performance of Office 365.

The concept of all centralizing all communication methodologies (presence, instant messaging, voice, video, and messaging services) within a single system, a.k.a. unified communications or UC, is not new. One of the most popular platforms is Microsoft. In fact, Microsoft has indicated that it has 110 million Skype for Business or Lync users around the world.
However, many organizations have yet to fully embrace the video conferencing capabilities available within Skype for Business / Lync. Overall we view Skype for Business (SfB) video conferencing as an excellent choice for sessions involving only SfB users. However, the SfB experience is focused more on content sharing and less on live video.
Download this whitepaper to learn 12 situations in which users may wish to use a different video conferencing tool. In this paper, Wainhouse also compares two options for companies seeking better video capabilities.

Deliver secure, high-performance unified communications for your organization with Citrix XenApp or XenDesktop and the HDX RealTime Optimization Pack for Skype for Business—the only Microsoft-endorsed solution for delivering Skype for Business in a virtual environment.

Effective, engaging collaboration that leverages video conferencing should incorporate features like content sharing, clear participant rosters, easy call management controls and Instant Messaging. But, according to Microsoft research, some 97 percent of meeting rooms aren’t adequately equipped to handle video.
In fact, a majority of these rooms host the most rudimentary of collaboration solutions like a digital projector and an audio connection for conference calls. And, while most of these enterprises are adopting Skype for Business for end-users, the reality is that many of their conference rooms lack the ability to connect to Skype for Business calls, which eliminates effective collaboration tools like video and content sharing.
Download this guide to see how to create engaging voice and video meeting experience with Skype for Business.

With the increase in mobility and the growth of distributed teams, it’s essential that you select audio devices that offer the best flexibility, quality and reach needed to support collaboration anywhere on any device.
To meet these requirements, Polycom offers a broad selection of easy-to-use, high-quality desk phones, conference phones, and applications. The phones support crystal-clear conversations and seamlessly integrate with a wide range of communication environments including open-SIP and Skype for Business and Office 365.
This comprehensive guide will provide you:
Guidance on selecting devices for different workspaces
Information on the newest collaboration features and benefits
Overview and comparison of the latest Polycom desk phones and conference phones

Engineering firms are under increasing pressure to deliver on billable ratios, while the IT teams that support them are asked to minimize their administrative burden on the firm.
What if a lead engineer could visit a job site without leaving the office? What if you could meet face-to-face with clients, partners, or subcontractors more frequently while budgeting less for travel costs?
Watch this video to learn how collaboration technology allows you to be more agile, efficient, and effective.
In under 30 minutes, we'll explain:
• Common use cases for video collaboration - going way beyond team meetings to the tasks at the heart of engineering
• Collaboration solution innovations - if you think an expensive, wall-mounted, on-premises solution is your only option, you may be surprised by what's available
• Success stories - hear how a leading engineering firm is putting these solutions to use and the impact it has on their business

Engineering firms are under increasing pressure to deliver on billable ratios, while the IT teams that support them are asked to minimize their administrative burden on the firm.
What if a lead engineer could visit a job site without leaving the office? What if you could meet face-to-face with clients, partners, or subcontractors more frequently while budgeting less for travel costs?
Watch this video to learn how collaboration technology allows you to be more agile, efficient, and effective.
In under 30 minutes, we'll explain:
• Common use cases for video collaboration - going way beyond team meetings to the tasks at the heart of engineering
• Collaboration solution innovations - if you think an expensive, wall-mounted, on-premises solution is your only option, you may be surprised by what's available
• Success stories - hear how a leading engineering firm is putting these solutions to use and the impact it has on their business

Most companies have decided they need the business agility and want the cost
savings that come when moving to the cloud. But with the bewildering amount
of contradictory information floating around on the Internet, not many really
understand exactly what that means or what it entails.
Companies considering Microsoft Office 365 as their first step in moving applications to hosted solutions
face similar inconsistencies, making it difficult to separate fact from fiction. For example, some businesses
incorrectly believe Office 365 is simply a version of Office accessed by a browser.
That’s just one of the misconceptions about Office 365 we want to correct, which is why we created this
myth-busting guide to help you.
When considering Office 365 to power your organization, you need to know the facts. Your business
depends on it. Ready to learn which of the top nine Office 365 business cloud myths you may have thought
were true—but aren’t? Read on.

"Unified communications (UC) has been a market in the making for well over a decade, as companies look to improve corporate collaboration. One of the software leaders in the UC space is Microsoft. As organizations look past IM and presence to explore other productivity and efficiency gains that might come with Skype for Business integration, the next logical step is Enterprise Voice. In this brief, you’ll gain valuable insight into the following 3 common questions companies ask before deploying Skype for Business Enterprise Voice: 1. What are the risks of deploying Skype for Business Enterprise Voice? 2. What is the quality of Skype for Business Enterprise Voice? 3. How can Skype for Business Enterprise Voice transform my company? Step inside this whitepaper for guidance from UC industry analyst, ZK Research. "

"Seeing is believing. How we connect and collaborate is changing. It’s no longer about reviewing a PowerPoint deck or a document sent out in advance in the meeting invite over a voice bridge. It’s now about collaborating and working in real time with voice, video and content sharing—as a team. Together, Microsoft and Polycom make it simple. Watch now an interactive session covering the following hot topics: How the new Office 365 Services and Skype for Business Online change the collaboration experience and reduce conferencing/communications costs. How you can turn your conference rooms and huddles spaces into productive, collaborative workspaces. Polycom RealPresence Trio and how it accommodates our 3 collaboration needs: Voice, Content and Video. How easy it is to set up and how easy it is for users to connect. How flexible your workspace transition plan can be. Don’t miss this session featuring Polycom and Skype for Business solutions experts, Peter Huboi and Jovito Salonga, for a d

"Build your business case. There is a transformational shift around enterprise voice solutions as organizations move from the PBX to unified communications (UC) for their voice needs. In parallel, many organizations are moving their existing on-premises infrastructure into the cloud.
This brief outlines the benefits and considerations such as:
• Microsoft Office 365 and the cloud
• Selecting phones for Skype for Business
• Replacing the PBX and making the transition
• And more
Download this brief that helps you realize the benefits that UC and collaboration brings to the modern workplace."

Microsoft Lync and Skype for Business each provides presence information within email and business applications and promotes voice and video collaboration within virtual teams, and with customers and partners. Polycom extends the benefits of Lync’s voice solutions with Polycom voice endpoints and enables collaboration experiences in multiple environments within the Microsoft Lync or Skype for Business interfaces.

"For over a decade Polycom and Microsoft have been addressing the challenge facing businesses across the globe—how to create the next generation workplace and allow employees to truly collaborate from anywhere. The recent rollout of Office 365 by Microsoft has made the next generation workplace a reality and Polycom is the only provider of voice and video solutions built for this new environment. In this webinar, Polycom and Microsoft experts will discuss Microsoft’s new Office 365 services and how Polycom’s portfolio of enterprise voice and video products will drive collaboration across an entire organization from desktops to conference rooms and beyond.
This webinar will cover the following product and industry discussions:
•What you need to know about Microsoft’s new voice capabilities in Office 365
•How to outfit your organization with voice solutions that integrate natively with Skype for Business and Office 365
•How to prepare your organization for video collaboration around Sk

For decades, the predominant model for deploying voice technology was on premises. However, over the past five years, the opinion of cloud-based voice services, such as Office 365, has changed dramatically. Just five years ago, the majority of businesses either felt that cloud unified communication was not viable or were taking a wait and see approach.
Today, the majority of respondents are planning a minor or major cloud UC purchase. For Microsoft customers, Skype for Business in Office 365 provides an excellent alternative to a traditional premises-based deployment.

There are many ways to take advantage of the rich set of collaboration tools provided by Microsoft Skype for Business (formerly Lync). IT leaders should consider a cap-and grow strategy where investment dollars in legacy systems are capped and the financial and IT resources are reallocated to grow Skype for Business.

A true integrated video collaboration solution should be able to connect disparate environments and provide a high quality and simple experience for users. Such a unified solution, when integrated into an intuitive, foolproof workflow for multipoint video collaboration, has the potential to transform the culture of video collaboration and realize highly leveraged end-to end group collaboration.

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